Philadelphia Phillies: Is GM Ruben Amaro on the hot seat?

The Philadelphia Phillies are on pace to miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season. They are also on pace to have their first 90 loss season since 2000. This is something Phillies fans and management are not used to, as the Phillies had made five consecutive playoff appearances from 2007 to 2011 that included two World Series appearances and a World Series title in 2008.

Since their last playoff appearance in 2011, the Phillies have struggled mightily as a whole. Last season, the Phillies made an unpopular decision when they fired manger Charlie Manuel after nine successful seasons. The thought behind their decision was that a new manger could potentially get the Phil’s back to there winning ways but things have gotten even uglier since new manger Ryne Sandberg has taken over.

Although there has been talk about general manger Ruben Amaro being on the hot seat this season, Phillies president David Montgomery made a statement yesterday that gave Amaro some confidence about his job security. “Ruben is not on the hot seat” Montgomery said in a statement.

The Phillies have been known to be a loyal organization when it comes to personnel moves in the past and sometimes too loyal. The Phillies ownership should also consider if Montgomery should be on the hot seat with Amaro. He deserves as much if not more of the blame for why the Phillies are where they are today.

Phillies fans are doing everything they can to let Phillies ownership know the product they have been putting out on the field is unacceptable.

The Phillies led baseball in attendance in 2010 and 2011, averaging more than 45,000 fans for home games. They’ve ranked 15th of 30 teams so far this season averaging just over 30,000 fans for home games.

It seems unlikely that the Phillies will be contenders anytime soon in the NL East given the makeup of their roster. Their roster is one of the oldest in the MLB as only three position players; Cody Asche, Ben Revere and Domonic Brown; are under the age of 30. At some point as a general manger you have to realize that your roster is not getting any younger and that players are no longer in their primes. This is something Amaro has continuously failed to do as he has relied to heavily on the team’s veterans, setting expectations for them that are no longer attainable. As a result of failing to get younger, the team has no chance of making the postseason for at least the next three seasons.

Amaro has said that he has a “plan for the future” that will help the Phillies get back to the playoffs. He stated the obvious by saying “the biggest plan is to make sure we improve offensively and with our pitching overall.” Amaro has said that he believes the Phillies do not need to completely rebuild the roster.

I disagree, the only players on the roster I would not consider getting rid of are Cole Hamels, Cody Asche, and Ben Revere. I would be open to trading everyone else on the roster if it meant the team would receive a good minor league prospect in return.

It is imperative that the Phillies ownership brings in new front office personnel this off season. Starting from new scouts, to a new general manger and possibly a new team president. Who knows, a new ownership might put more of a emphasis on developing players and ultimately a better product on the field for fans to come watch.